La Liga announced immediate legal action after reports of racist behavior targeting FC Barcelona players during Saturday’s El Clasico against Real Madrid, which Barcelona won 4-0, according to a statement released following the game.
Seventeen-year-old Lamine Yamal was specifically subjected to intensive discriminatory and hateful comments during the match.
He reportedly scored the third goal for Barca and celebrated with references very much aligned with Real Madrid namely a “calma” gesture reminiscent of Cristiano Ronaldo and a dance similar to that of Vinicius Jr., provoking Real’s supporters.
The league will report the incidents to the Hate Crimes Section of the National Police Information Brigade and inform the Coordinating Prosecutor of the Hate Crimes and Discrimination Unit in the State Attorney General’s Office.
“La Liga vehemently condemns the incidents at the Santiago Bernabeu. There is no place for this scourge in sport,” the statement read.